16 Tex. Admin. Code § 70.23 - Criteria for Approval of Third Party Inspection Agencies and Inspectors
(a) An agency seeking council approval as a
third party inspection agency shall submit a written application to the
executive director. The application will indicate the agency name, address, and
telephone number of each office through which third party inspections will be
coordinated.
(b) The application
will include the following information.
(1) An
organizational chart shall be submitted showing the names of managerial and
technical personnel responsible for in-plant and on-site construction
inspections.
(2) A resume for each
person listed in the organizational chart shall be submitted indicating
academic and professional qualifications, experience in related areas, and
specific duties within the agency. All certifications must be current with
ICC.
(3) Complete documentation to
substantiate the agency's ability to perform in-plant and on-site construction
inspections and follow-up inspections to determine the compliance of a building
manufacturer with the standards and rules shall be submitted. The application
will include a formal description of the agency's supervision and training
program for inspectors, performance records of manufacturers, examples of
inspection reports, agreements or contracts with manufacturers, and any other
pertinent information;
(4) A
statement of certification shall be submitted, signed by the agency manager or
chief executive officer, that:
(A) its board
of directors, as a body, and its managerial and inspection personnel, as
individuals, are free to exercise independence of judgment in the performance
of their duties within the agency;
(B) its activities pursuant to the discharge
of responsibilities as a third party inspection agency will not result in
financial benefit to the agency via stock ownership or other financial
interests in any producer, supplier, or vendor of products involved, other than
through standard fees for services rendered;
(C) the agency will consistently and
uniformly implement the policies and determinations of the council with regard
to interpretations of the standards and rules;
(D) the agency will not provide design
services or prepare compliance control manuals for manufacturers for whom it
acts as a third party inspection agency;
(E) all information contained in the
application for approval as a third party inspection agency is true, timely,
and correct; and
(F) all future
changes will be immediately communicated to the department;
(5) A list of states in which the
agency is currently approved to provide product certification or validation or
third party inspection services and a complete description of each system and
program involved shall be submitted.
(c) The minimum personnel requirements and
qualifications are as follows.
(1) The
manager or chief executive officer shall have:
(A) a minimum of five years experience in
building code enforcement or compliance control of building systems;
(B) a minimum of one year experience in
responsible technical project planning and management; and
(C) licensure as a professional engineer or
architect in the State of Texas. The applicant's license number must be
included on the resume.
(2) The supervisor of inspections shall have:
(A) a high school diploma or
equivalent;
(B) a minimum of five
years experience as an inspector in manufactured buildings or related
compliance control or equivalent;
(C) certification as a fire inspector II as
granted by ICC or NFPA; and
(D)
certification as a residential energy inspector/plans examiner as granted by
ICC, as a commercial energy inspector as granted by ICC, and as:
(i) a residential combination inspector as
granted by ICC; or
(ii) a
commercial combination inspector as granted by ICC; or
(iii) a combination inspector as granted by
ICC.
(3) Each
inspector shall submit a written application to the executive director. The
application shall include the following.
(A) A
resume that includes the inspector's academic and professional qualifications,
experience in related areas, and relevant ICC certifications. Each inspector
shall have:
(i) a high school diploma or
equivalent;
(ii) a minimum of one
year experience in building code enforcement, compliance control inspection, or
building experience.
(B)
Evidence of certification as a residential energy inspector as granted by ICC
or as a commercial energy inspector as granted by ICC or both. The inspector
must have a residential energy certification to inspect housing and a
commercial energy certification to inspect buildings.
(C) Evidence of certification as:
(i) a residential combination inspector as
granted by ICC; or
(ii) a
commercial combination inspector as granted by ICC; or
(iii) a combination inspector as granted by
ICC; or
(iv) one of each of the
individual certifications from ICC that comprise the combination certifications
referenced in clauses (i), (ii), and (iii) provided that the inspector has one
in each area: building, mechanical, plumbing, and electrical.
(4) An inspector who
performs an in-plant inspection of modules or modular components that will be
part of a housing or building project over 75 feet in height must also have ICC
or NFPA certification as a fire inspector I or II.
(5) An inspector who performs an installation
inspection of industrialized housing or buildings over 75 feet in height must
also have ICC or NFPA certification as a fire inspector II.
Notes
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